novelapdf Chapter 64 The Nominal Disciple Turns the Tables
Chapter 64 The Nominal Disciple Turns the Tables
Fan Zhou was only at the third level of the Nascent Soul stage, yet he was able to kill this assassin who was at the sixth level of the Nascent Soul stage.
He even comprehended the sword's aura!
Lou Zhenqing found it hard to believe.
Ke Qingji couldn't possibly lie to him.
He activated the Listening Rain Sword, using its deductive abilities to deduce the information, and quickly obtained some details.
"It really was Fan Zhou who did it. It seems his talent is even better than I expected."
Lou Zhenqing was both surprised and delighted.
"It seems I've really taken on a good disciple this time."
He quickly sheathed his sword, bowed deeply to Qingji, and said apologetically:
"I, Lou, have been reckless and have wronged Lord Qingji."
"It's alright," Qingji said casually.
After all, they were both working for the young master, so they wouldn't get angry and fall out over this.
Si Wuju also stood up to smooth things over, and said with a smile:
"It's normal for Dr. Lou to be a little impatient because he cares about his students."
Lou Zhenqing looked embarrassed and said repeatedly, "I'm ashamed, I'm ashamed."
Si Wuju invited him to sit down, while he stared at the two black-robed assassins on the ground, growing angrier with each passing thought, but outwardly he smiled and said:
"Now that there are two assassins, if we return them to Princess Chenxing together, I'm afraid we'll offend her."
Lou Zhenqing was also angry. Back then, Fan Zhou had kindly called for help for the princess, but Elder Chen Qing wanted to kill him without even knowing the facts. Now, he had even sent assassins, which showed that he was not taken seriously at all.
However, since Gu Mie had formed a marriage alliance with the Yue Kingdom, he, as a subject, could not break the veneer.
Lou Zhenqing pondered for a moment, then suggested:
"In my opinion, we should turn the tables and go along with their wishes."
"I will send the real assassin's head, along with the fake assassin's belongings, back to the princess first thing tomorrow morning, saying only that it was my disciple who killed him, and that I know nothing else."
"Okay, let's do as Dr. Lou says."
Si Wuju nodded in agreement.
Lou Zhenqing shared the same thoughts as him, but he didn't want to say it.
"Qingji, cut off the head of that real assassin."
Si Wuju's eyes gleamed coldly, but he chuckled softly:
"I hope Princess Chenxing can understand my good intentions."
…………
Fan Zhou sat cross-legged on the bed, poured out a Wood Essence Pill from the jade bottle, and examined it in his hand.
This elixir is entirely bluish-green, with scaly patterns on its surface. It has a fresh, herbal fragrance, and the internal energy in one's dantian is subtly drawn to it.
"I wonder how effective it is, and what it tastes like?"
Fan Zhou tossed the pill into his mouth, swallowed it without chewing, and went straight into his stomach.
Strangely enough, the pill didn't dissolve in my stomach.
Once he used his inner energy to refine it, the pill immediately began to gush out pure spiritual energy.
If a spring breeze sweeps by, a cool sensation spreads throughout the body, all 48,000 pores open at the same time, sweeping away the internal heat and pain, and a continuous vitality fills the fatigue and weakness.
The wound on his hand healed quickly, his internal energy surged, and boundless energy continuously flowed from his dantian, circulating throughout his body.
"This pill is really effective!"
Fan Zhou was overjoyed. He assumed the guiding posture of the Longevity Technique, taking deep breaths and slow exhalations through his mouth and nose, pushing his internal energy to a higher level.
He had just broken through to the second level of the Longevity Technique, and it would normally take him quite some time to reach perfection. However, with the help of the Wood Essence Pill, his cultivation level was rising rapidly.
Fan Zhou completely immersed himself in the process, silently circulating his cultivation technique.
Until the sun rose on the horizon, and the morning light peeked in through the window and shone on his face.
Fan Zhou slowly opened his eyes, experiencing the changes throughout his body.
The key to the Fetal Breathing Realm lies in external physical training and internal cultivation of the breath.
From skin, flesh, tendons, and bones, to marrow, blood, and internal organs, one finally cultivates embryonic breathing.
He first cultivated external skills, using the "Two Elements and Four Phases Sword" to complete the tempering of his skin, flesh, tendons, and bones, achieving the perfect three levels of embryonic breathing.
Later, he practiced internal energy cultivation and began a second body tempering process with the help of the "Longevity Skill".
The subtlety of the "Longevity Technique" far surpasses that of the "Two Elements and Four Phases Sword," hence the improvement from this second body tempering far exceeds that from the first, greatly enhancing his strength.
This is why he was able to withstand dozens of moves from Huo Duo.
If he were just an ordinary third-level Nascent Soul cultivator, he would have had no chance to fight back against Huo Duo, who was at the sixth level of Nascent Soul cultivation. He would have been killed in a single exchange.
Now that he has taken the Wood Essence Pill, he has reached 70-80% of the power of the second level of the Longevity Technique, and his cultivation has improved once again.
"What a wonderful elixir!"
Fan Zhou jumped out of bed, stretched lazily, and his spine cracked as he felt completely relaxed.
Looking at the wound on my hand, the scabs had already fallen off, and no scars had been left.
He drew his longsword and twirled it in the air a few times, clearly feeling that his muscles were more flexible and powerful.
Fan Zhou narrowed his eyes, activated the sword energy within his body, and the longsword in his hand immediately emitted a three-inch-long green light, which stretched and contracted like a serpent.
It was the light of a sword.
"If Master Huang knew, he would probably be quite shocked, wouldn't he?"
Thinking of Huang Yi, Fan Zhou suddenly remembered something.
When Huang Yi left, he said he left a sword manual with Qin Zhiyuan.
"Now that I have mastered the Yin-Yang Four Phases Sword to its peak and cultivated the sword's aura, it is time to practice new sword techniques."
Fan Zhou sheathed his sword, preparing to go and ask Qin Zhiyuan about the matter.
"Tell him about the assassination attempt last night as well."
Upon arriving at the weapon forging workshop, the gatekeeper disciple bowed to him and said:
"Senior Brother Fan, Senior Uncle Qin wants you to go directly to the reception hall to find him."
"it is good."
Fan Zhou wasn't surprised and went straight to the hall.
Upon arriving at the entrance of the hall, they found that in addition to Qin Zhiyuan, Lou Zhenqing and Shen Yusheng were also there. The three of them looked serious, and the atmosphere was very oppressive.
"They're not going to interrogate me again, are they?"
Fan Zhou, feeling uneasy, respectfully entered the hall and greeted the three teachers:
"Greetings, Peak Master Lou, Senior Uncle Shen, Senior Uncle Qin."
"uh-huh!"
Qin Zhiyuan coughed forcefully, his expression a half-smile, and gestured to him:
"Why are you still calling me Peak Master?"
Fan Zhou was baffled. What else should he call him but Peak Master?
"Does this mean I have to use my job title during work hours?"
Thinking of this, he looked at Lou Zhenqing and said cautiously:
"Dr. Lou."
Lou Zhenqing chuckled and shook his head.
Qin Zhiyuan looked at him with exasperation and said, pointing at him, "Where did your usual cleverness go?"
Shen Yusheng stroked his beard and laughed, "It's all your fault for scaring him."
Fan Zhou was full of doubts. He looked at Lou Zhenqing at the head of the table. Lou Zhenqing had a gentle expression and looked at him with kind eyes, like an elder.
In a flash of inspiration, he realized what was happening and immediately kowtowed to Lou Zhenqing, calling out:
"Master!"
Lou Zhenqing nodded in satisfaction, "Good, good, get up now."
"Yes, Master."
Fan Zhou stood up with a big smile on his face.
What a surprise this morning!
Qin Zhiyuan sighed, "I was really surprised when Liu Ergou mastered the sword aura. I never expected that you would also master the sword aura today. It's rare to find two talents like you in such a small market."
Fan Zhou asked in surprise, "Senior Uncle Qin, how did you know I had mastered the sword aura?"
Qin Zhiyuan smiled and reminded him, "Now that you've become a disciple of Peak Master Lou, you should call me Senior Brother Qin from now on."
"As for your mastery of sword light, it was Peak Master Lou who told me about it, and I didn't believe it at first."
Shen Yusheng nodded and said, "I think no one would believe that you could kill an assassin at the sixth level of the Nascent Soul stage unless they saw it with their own eyes."
Fan Zhou looked at them in astonishment:
"I haven't said anything yet, how did you all know?"
Lou Zhenqing explained, "Qingji told me about it last night, and I just told them."
"So it was him."
Fan Zhou then understood, and secretly guessed:
"Since Master knows Qingji, he must also know Young Master Wuju. I wonder what their relationship is?"
He was about to ask, but Lou Zhenqing spoke first:
"A-Zhou, last night the Gumi tribe sent someone to assassinate you. As your master, I should seek justice for you. However, Princess Changming and the young master Wuju are already engaged in a marriage alliance. As a subject, I cannot damage the relationship between the two countries. I can only tolerate this for the time being. I hope you will not blame your master."
Princess Changming has actually formed a marriage alliance with the young master Wuju!
"Moreover, Master, like Qing Ji, is also devoted to serving Young Master Wuju!"
Fan Zhou felt that this information foreshadowed something, but he couldn't quite put his finger on it.
As for Lou Zhenqing saying that he couldn't get justice for him, Fan Zhou wasn't angry or resentful.
Because he simply couldn't produce any evidence.
The assassin had been killed by him, and Qingji had taken the body away.
Now that they only have a mouth left, how can they possibly get the Gumei tribe to admit that they did it?
"Master, you flatter me. Assassination is a secretive matter, and I would never want to put you in such a difficult position," Fan Zhou said, bowing respectfully.
I'll do it myself later.
Lou Zhenqing nodded slightly:
"It's good that you know when to advance and when to retreat, and that you can endure honor and disgrace. But even though we can't get justice, we still need some compensation."
"A-Zhou, you will come with me to pay our respects to Princess Changming later. We will give her a gift."
Fan Zhou asked curiously, "What kind of gift are you giving?"
Lou Zhenqing lifted the lid of a square wooden box on the table, revealing a head inside.
The head appeared to belong to a young man, but his face had been brutally beaten beyond recognition, with his features shattered and completely unrecognizable.
"This is the real assassin who tried to kill Princess Changming. If we send him his head, she will surely thank us."
Lou Zhenqing closed the box and said again:
"But before that, we need to dress you up."
"I?"
Fan Zhou looked puzzled.
After a while.
Lou Zhenqing led Fan Zhou and the other two away from the weapon forging workshop and headed towards the camp of the Gumi tribe's residence.
…………
Inside the golden palace.
Chen Xing lay on her side on the bed, covering her head with the blanket, staring blankly at the puppet in her hands.
The puppet is carved to depict a black-haired boy, with the words "Zhai Yao" carved on his chest.
"Zhai Yao, are you alright? Did you get caught by the Sword Furnace? You hate me so much you want to kill me, but do you know I still love you? Where are you hiding now? Are you thinking of me? Will we ever have a chance to meet again? No, it's better if we never meet again..."
Chen Xing's mind was filled with random thoughts. One moment she thought of the days they used to play together, the next she thought of the devastation of Xiao Fu Village, with corpses strewn everywhere, then she thought of his resolute attempt to assassinate her, and then she thought of the promise he made in Peach Blossom Valley. Her heart was filled with endless sorrow.
Elder Chen Qing stood by her bedside, watching her silently, his heart filled with worry.
"That silly girl, she's always thinking about impossible things."
"Even for daughters from ordinary families, their marriages are arranged by their elders, and they aren't guaranteed to marry a suitable husband. How much more so for you, a princess of royalty, whose marriage is of utmost importance? How can it be decided according to your own whims?"
Chen Qing shook his head helplessly.
If it weren't for her covering for the two of them, Zhai Yao would have been executed long ago, how could she still be alive today?
Only a girl blinded by love would believe the absurd story of a poor boy overcoming numerous obstacles to finally marry a beautiful princess.
"Xing'er, it's time to get up and take your medicine. Your injury hasn't fully healed yet."
Elder Chen Qing called out, but Chen Xing completely ignored her.
She knew that the girl was complaining about her not saving Zhai Yao and was feeling resentful.
She didn't tell Chen Xing about sending assassins to cover for Zhai Yao, just to scare her.
"When the sword furnace delivers the head later, I'll make a real fool of you."
Chen Qing chuckled inwardly, but still patiently persuaded Chen Xing to drink the medicine.
At this moment, the palace gates suddenly opened, and a maid entered the bedroom, approached Chen Qing, and reported:
"Elder, Doctor Lou requests an audience. He says the assassin has been captured and his head is to be presented to Her Highness the Princess."
Chen Xing suddenly sat up in bed, staring at the maid in horror:
"What did you say, Zhai...?"
Before she could finish speaking, she fell straight backward.
Elder Chen Qing was startled. He moved quickly and immediately supported Chen Xing, who had fainted from heartache, and hurriedly channeled his true energy into her.
"Silly girl, that's not Zhai Yao, that's an assassin I sent in disguise!"
Chen Xing slowly opened her eyes, looking at her grandmother with a mixture of grievance and joy, and cried out:
"Why didn't you say so sooner? I was so worried!"
Elder Chen Qing said irritably, "All you ever think about is worrying about him. Do you know how worried I am about you?"
Chenxing looked embarrassed. Now that she knew her grandmother was still on her side, she started to act cute again:
"Grandma, I misunderstood you. I'll take my medicine now."
Chen Xing picked up the medicine bowl from the side and drank it on her own.
Elder Chen Qing was relieved to see that she was alright, but he still kept a stern face and said:
"Drink it or not, it's up to you. I'm going to see Dr. Lou."
She turned and walked outside the hall, where she indeed saw Lou Zhenqing waiting.
Qin Zhiyuan was holding a wooden box, while Shen Yusheng was holding a black robe.
Strangely, there was another person standing behind Lou Zhenqing, the very same boy she had ordered Huo Duo to assassinate.
His face was deathly pale, and his chest was wrapped in a white cloth, with faint traces of blood visible, indicating that he was severely injured.
"He's still alive?"
"Could it be that he was saved by the sword furnace cultivator at the crucial moment?"
Elder Chen Qing was surprised, but he didn't care too much.
All that matters is that they send Hodo's head.
Chen Qing's gaze swept over the wooden box, and when her eyes pierced through the obstruction and saw what was inside, she was startled and her steps involuntarily stopped.
How is that possible?
How come it's Zhai Yao's head!
Where is Hodo?
Where did Hodo's head go again?
Chen Qing's pupils contracted sharply, and he felt a chill run through his entire body.